Bette Midler

Bette Midler built a successful stage, screen and recording career on the basis of her self-styled "Divine Miss M" character - a sassy, hip-wagging classic "broad" archetype. She was quick with the co...
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R&B stars Tlc's online campaign to raise funds for a new album has closed with more than $430,000 (£268,000) in donations, almost three times higher than their original goal. The Waterfalls hitmakers called on fans last month (Jan15) to help cover the costs of their fifth and final album and gave themselves a month to hit their target of $150,000 (£93,750).
To their surprise, members Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins and Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas were able to reach the goal in just four days thanks to their fans, including celebrities such as Katy Perry, Dev Hynes, Russell Simmons, Soulja Boy, Bette Midler, and New Kids on the Block, who donated $10,000 (£6,250).
The campaign closed on Thursday (19Feb15), and more than 4,000 fans had made a donation, raising a total of $430,255 (£268,909).
The duo thanked fans for their support, writing on the Kickstarter.com fundraising page, "Thank you to everyone who has donated to our final album!! The amount doesn't matter but the fact that you donated means the world to us."
TLC are hoping to release the crowdfunded album this September (15), and have recruited veteran producer Ron Fair for the project.

A follow-up to hit comedy The First Wives Club was shelved because studio bosses weren't willing to increase Goldie Hawn, Bette Midler and Diane Keaton's salaries when the film became an unexpected hit.
The 1996 film about three divorced women seeking revenge on their ex-husbands topped box offices around the world and left fans clamoring for a sequel, but in a new interview with the Harvard Business Review, Hawn reveals plans for a follow-up fell apart because studio bosses refused to pay the film's stars more money.
Hawn explains, "We were all women of a certain age, and everyone took a cut in salary to do it (make the film), so the studio could make what it needed. We all took a smaller back end than usual and a much smaller front end. And we ended up doing incredibly well. The movie was hugely successful. It made a lot of money. We were on the cover of Time magazine."
She continues, "Two years later, when the studio came back with a sequel, they wanted to offer us exactly the same deal. We went back to ground zero. Had three men come in there, they would have upped their salaries without even thinking about it. But the fear of women's movies is embedded in the culture."
The First Wives Club raked in $181.5 million worldwide and also landed an Oscar nomination for Marc Shaiman's score.

"Hm. The Daily Show w/ (with) Bette Midler has a nice ring to it. Except for the 'daily' part. I'd prefer The Monthly (Unless I'm On Vacation) Show." Veteran entertainer Bette Midler jokes about taking over the popular U.S. comedy show from departing host Jon Stewart.

U.S. TV talk show pioneer Joe Franklin has died, aged 88. Franklin passed away on Saturday (24Jan15) at a hospice in New York City after a battle with prostate cancer.
He was a regular fixture on late-night radio and TV shows in the Big Apple and is credited with inventing the talk show format.
Franklin is believed to have interviewed 300,000 guests in 21,445 shows from 1950 to 1993, and he is listed in the Guinness Book of World Records for having the world's longest-running talk show programme.
During his career, he interviewed the likes of Bing Crosby, Marilyn Monroe, Madonna, Barbra Streisand, Eddie Murphy, Bette Midler, Al Pacino, Woody Allen and Bruce Springsteen, giving many of them early exposure before their careers kicked off.
Franklin also played himself in the films Manhattan, Broadway Danny Rose and Ghostbusters.

R&B stars Tlc have expressed their gratitude to fans including Katy Perry, Bette Midler and New Kids On The Block for generously donating to their album crowdfunding campaign, making it most successful pop project on Kickstarter.com. The Creep hitmakers called on fans on Monday (19Jan15) to help cover the costs for their fifth and final album and gave themselves a month to hit their target of $150,000 (£93,750).
They reached their goal in just four days, thanks to big cash pledges from Perry and New Kids on the Block's Donnie Wahlberg, among others, and now Tionne 'T-Boz' Watkins and Rozonda 'Chilli' Thomas have issued a statement to People.com to thank their loyal followers.
The message reads: "Our hearts are overflowing with gratitude for our fans for all of their amazing support. We feel so blessed to know that not only do our fans love us, but they believe in us. We have received support from longtime listeners that attended our first concerts, plus new fans who have only just started listening."
Giving special shout-outs to their most notable supporters, they add: "We were also so humbled by the outpour (sic) of support from other artists like Katy Perry, New Kids on the Block, Dev Hynes, Russell Simmons, Soulja Boy, Bette Midler and more!"
And TLC were given extra reason to celebrate on Thursday (22Jan15) as they discovered they had made Kickstarter history.
In an update for fans, they write, "Y'all are beyond amazing. We are happy and proud to say that this project is officially the MOST SUCCESSFUL POP PROJECT ON KICKSTARTER!!! You made this happen and we are so blessed!!"
Fans can continue to contribute to the project until the campaign ends on 19 February (15).

Top session bassist Tim Drummond has died, aged 74. The musician, who regularly collaborated with Neil Young and Bob Dylan, passed away on Sunday (11Jan15).
Drummond began his career in country and R&B in the 1960s, performing and recording with the likes of Conway Twitty and James Brown, before he moved to Nashville, Tennessee, where he became an in-demand session player.
He became a member of Young's Stray Gators band when the rocker recorded Harvest in Nashville, and also toured with Young and with Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. He also recorded with CSN and Crosby and Nash.
While touring with CSNY in the mid-1970s, Drummond met Dylan and joined his band, co-writing the song Saved for the folk-rock icon.
The bass player also performed and recorded with J.J. Cale, Ry Cooder, Bette Midler, Paula Abdul and Jewel.

Actresses Bette Midler and Julianne Moore are among the stars who have expressed their sorrow and heartbreak after gunmen shot and killed 12 staff members at French satirical magazine Charlie Hebdo on Wednesday (07Jan15). At least two suspects stormed the publication's Paris offices and opened fire, gunning down 12 people and leaving four others critically injured in what French President Francois Hollande has branded a "terrorist attack".
Editors of the weekly Charlie Hebdo magazine have previously published controversial cartoons of the Muslim Prophet Mohammed, infuriating devout members of Islam as depictions of religious figures are typically frowned upon. Wednesday's attack is believed to be related to that controversy.
The tragedy has prompted an outpouring of sympathy and support from a slew of celebrities, with Moore taking to Twitter.com to write, "I am heartbroken by the loss of life and attack on freedom of expression", while Midler posts, "There are no words. How many times have we said that in the last few years? Religious war comes to the doors of our homes. I think I have to go light some candles and say some prayers."
French actor Gilles Marini has shared his outrage in a series of posts, which read: "Shame on what happened in France today. Governments around the world TOGETHER must stop those vermin". He then adds, "To all Fanatics, extremist and devil (sic) that believe that God ask them to do that (sic). You're wrong and manipulated."
An angry Moby writes, "islamic extremists are willing to kill innocent people over CARTOONS?? what the f**k? what sort of deity can't handle a cartoon? here are some options if you're offended by a cartoon: a-don't look at it. or b-make a funnier cartoon. killing people is not an option".
Singer Josh Groban tweets, "My heart goes out to the French people and the city of Paris on this horrible day. This is an attack on us all and we are with you", and his actress girlfriend Kat Dennings adds, "Paris! My heart goes out to you and everyone affected by this horrific attack. I love you all."
Others who have tweeted about the shooting include Jamie Lee Curtis, Elijah Wood, Nancy Sinatra, Pete Wentz, OneRepublic, Nicki Minaj and Nicky Hilton.
As WENN went to press, the gunmen were still at large.
Among the dead are Charlie Hebdo founder Georges Wolinski and fellow famed cartoonists Jean 'Cabu' Cabut, Stephane 'Charb' Charbonnier and Bernard 'Tignous' Verlhac.

Were you paying attention to the big screen and all the Hollywood happenings in 2014? We thought we'd kick off the New Year with a quick look back over the last 12 months of WENN movie news and pose a few questions to one and all that might just help you recall some magical moments at the cinema, or some hot gossip from the year just gone.
The prize for the winner? Bragging rights and a front row seat to the 2015 Oscars in your own living room! Best of luck!
1. The Fault in Our Stars was based on a book written by which author?
a. John Green
b. John White
c. James Green
d. James Brown
2. What song did not feature on the soundtrack to Guardians of the Galaxy?
a. I'm Not in Love
b. Mama Told Me Not to Come
c. Spirit in the Sky
d. Hooked on a Feeling
3. From which hit animated movie did the catchy tune Everything is Awesome come?
a. Muppets Most Wanted
b. The Lego Movie
c. How to Train Your Dragon 2
d. Mr Peabody and Sherman
4. Game of Thrones star Kit Harington starred in which epic disaster film based on true events?
a. Godzilla
b. 300: Rise of an Empire
c. Hercules
d. Pompeii
5. The son of which longtime Hollywood couple starred alongside Channing Tatum and Jonah Hill in 22 Jump Street?
a. Colin Hanks, son of Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson
b. Oliver Hudson, son of Bill Hudson and Goldie Hawn
c. Jaden Smith, son of Will Smith and Jada Pinkett Smith
d. Wyatt Russell, son of Kurt Russell and Goldie Hawn
6. Which of the following was not a cast member in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes?
a. Andy Serkis
b. James Franco
c. Jason Clarke
d. Gary Oldman
7. Get On Up was a biopic based on the life of which legendary musician?
a. James Brown
b. Stevie Wonder
c. George Clinton
d. Smokey Robinson
8. Which Hollywood veteran portrayed the family matriarch in This Is Where I Leave You?
a. Anjelica Huston
b. Jane Fonda
c. Bette Midler
d. Dame Judi Dench
9. Which musical did The Amazing Spider-Man star Emma Stone make her Broadway debut in?
a. Chicago
b. Cabaret
c. Wicked
d. Les Miserables
10. Which one of these celebrities was NOT part of Ellen DeGeneres' famous 'selfie' taken during the 2014 Academy Awards?
a. Channing Tatum
b. Kevin Spacey
c. Matthew McConaughey
d. Jared Leto
11. Which actress celebrated her one-year wedding anniversary to her tennis pro husband on New Year's Eve?
a. Ashley Tisdale
b. Kaley Cuoco-Sweeting
c. Naya Rivera
d. Ginnifer Goodwin
12. Who will play the villain in the next James Bond movie?
a. Quentin Tarantino
b. Mark Strong
c. Christoph Waltz
d. Bryan Cranston
13. Which country do the two actors who played Solomon Northup in 12 Years a Slave and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. in Selma come from?
a. England
b. France
c. Canada
d. America
14. Who rang in 2014 with Charlize Theron and has since become her boyfriend?
a. Sean Penn
b. Chris Pratt
c. Mark Wahlberg
d. Joaquin Phoenix
15. Name new mum Scarlett Johansson's daughter.
a. Kate
b. Jane
c. Apple
d. Rose
16. Which famous Jessica played Matthew McConaughey's grown-up daughter in Interstellar?
a. Jessica Alba
b. Jessica Biel
c. Jessica Chastain
d. Jessica Lange
17. Which Brit picked up the Best Actor prize at the Cannes Film Festival in May for his portrayal of grumpy artist J.W. Turner?
a. Colin Firth
b. Timothy Spall
c. Ray Winstone
d. Alan Rickman
18. What was the highest grossing movie of 2014?
a. Transformers: Age of Extinction
b. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
c. Guardians of the Galaxy
d. The Hobbit: The Battle of the Five Armies
19. Which awards season favourite was filmed over 12 years?
a. Boyhood
b. Birdman
c. Foxcatcher
d. Selma
20. In what film did Jennifer Lawrence debut her singing voice, scoring a chart hit all around the world?
a. Silver Linings Playbook
b. American Hustle
c. X-Men: Days of Future Past
d. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
21. What is the bestselling music soundtrack on iTunes this year?
a. Frozen
b. Annie
c. The Hunger Games: Mockingjay - Part 1
d. Guardians of the Galaxy
22. He ended 2014 a newlywed with a hit movie, called The Theory of Everything. Name the British actor who married fiancee Hannah Bagshawe in England on 15 December.
a. Benedict Cumberbatch
b. Timothy Spall
c. Eddie Redmayne
d. Colin Firth
23. Why did model-turned-actress Milla Jovovich announce she was putting the next film in her Resident Evil franchise on hold in August?
a. Script problems
b. Financial issues
c. Her director husband Paul W.S. Anderson had abandoned the movie
d. She was pregnant
24. In 2014, this actor played Moses and became a new dad. Name him.
a. Joel Edgerton
b. Chris Pratt
c. Christian Bale
d. Mark Wahlberg
25. Another new dad, Chris Hemsworth, was named People magazine's Sexiest Man Alive in 2014, but who's the lucky actress, the mother of his kids, who gets to cuddle up to him every night?
a. Eva Mendes
b. Elsa Pataky
c. Scarlett Johansson
d. Jessica Alba
ANSWERS:
1. a
2. b
3. b
4. d
5. d
6. b
7. a
8. b
9. b
10. c
11. b
12. c
13. a
14. a
15. d
16. c
17. b
18. a
19. a
20. d
21. a
22. c
23. d
24. c
25. b

Larry Henley, the songwriter behind beloved ballad Wind Beneath My Wings, has died, aged 77. The legendary writer passed away in Nashville on Thursday (18Dec14). He had been suffering from Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease.
He is best known for co-writing the hit song, which has been covered by many artists including Lou Rawls, Willie Nelson, Ray Price, Gladys Knight & The Pips and Sheena Easton and veteran entertainer Bette Midler, who made the song an international hit in 1988 when it featured on the soundtrack for her movie, Beaches.
The song won Grammy Awards for Record and Song of the Year in 1990.
Henley also wrote number one country hits such as 'Til I Get it Right by Tammy Wynette and Lizzie and the Rainman by Tanya Tucker, as well as songs for Janie Fricke and Randy Travis.
Henley was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2012.

Bette Midler had to pull out of plans to publicly make amends with Ariana Grande by presenting her with an award at the Billboard Women in Music gala on Friday (12Dec14) after falling ill. The veteran entertainer recently took aim at Grande for her sexy wardrobe choices, insisting she looks "so ridiculous" wearing revealing outfits onstage and in her music videos.
Grande took the criticism in her stride, taking to Twitter.com to write, "Bette was always a feminist who stood for women being able to do whatever the F they wanted without judgement! not sure where that Bette went but I want that sexy mermaid back!! always a fan no matter what my love."
Midler has since attempted to smooth over relations with the young pop star and even agreed to serve as a presenter at the Billboard ceremony in New York to show Grande she meant no harm with her critical comments.
However, the Hocus Pocus actress/singer called in sick at the last moment, and organisers instead called on Grande's brother, Frankie, to do the honours for the Rising Star award.
A source tells the New York Daily News, "It was supposed to be a fun/funny/makeup session. But Bette got sick at the last minute and couldn't show. Both of them were on board to do it. They were going to have fun with it and be supportive of each other."

Answered open call for a national company of "Fiddler on the Roof"; hired for the chorus of the Broadway production; took over the role of Tzeitel in February 1967 and remained in role for three years

Worked in a pineapple cannery in Hawaii after leaving college

Teamed with Barry Manilow after a long-standing feud to record Bette Midler Sings the Rosemary Clooney Songbook

Summary

Bette Midler built a successful stage, screen and recording career on the basis of her self-styled "Divine Miss M" character - a sassy, hip-wagging classic "broad" archetype. She was quick with the comebacks, took no guff and had a tendency to burst into tunes from the Great American Songbook. Her initial stage fame and string of nostalgia-tinged hit albums in the 1970s eventually led to big screen success, with dramas like the pseudo Janis Joplin biopic "The Rose" (1980) and three-hankie chick flick "Beaches" (1990). She also lent appropriately outrageous variations of Miss M to comedies including "Ruthless People" (1986), "Down and Out in Beverly Hills" (1986) and "The First Wives Club" (1996). In an era where stage, screen and recording crossover success was rare, only Liza Minnelli rivaled Midler when it came to endless concert tour schedules and triumph in all genres. More than 30 years into her career, the entertainer was still scoring hits with such albums as 1998's <i>Bathhouse Betty</i> and the televised special of her acclaimed Caesar's Palace act "Bette Midler: The Showgirl Must Go On" (HBO, 2010). As a film star, live performer and winner of Grammy, Emmy and Golden Globe awards, Midler was an entertainment icon of the highest order.

Name

Role

Comments

Fred Midler

Father

Originally from Paterson, NJ and moved to Honolulu shortly before Bette was born; painted for the Navy while family was living in Hawaii; Died in late 1980s

Ruth Midler

Mother

Originally from Paterson, NJ and moved to Honolulu shortly before Bette was born; Died in late 1980s

Daniel Midler

Brother

Younger; Born mentally impaired

Judith Midler

Sister

Older; named after Judy Garland; Died 1968 when she was hit by a taxi cab, while visiting New York to see Bette perform on Broadway in "Fiddler on the Roof"; Bette's debut album The Divine Miss M (1972) was dedicated to her

Education

She was named the 1976 Woman of the Year by Hasty Pudding Theatricals.

In addition to her musical albums, Midler also recorded a comedy album Mud Will be Flung Tonight in 1985.

She received the AIDS Project's Commitment for Life Award in 1991.

In 1991, Midler won a landmark $400,000 lawsuit against an ad agency for appropriating her musical style without her consent.

"Basically, what I was doing was a character that has always had a place in show business, and that's the Broad. People always love a broad – someone with a sense of humor, someone with a fairly wicked tongue, someone who can belt out a song, someone who takes no guff. When I came up, there wasn't anyone like that. The last one, I'd have to say, was Sophie Tucker." – Midler on her onstage persona, quoted in Entertainment Weekly, Dec. 20, 1991

In 1994, Midler founded the New York Restoration Project, a non-profit organization with the goal of revitalizing neglected neighborhood parks in economically disadvantaged neighborhoods of New York City.

About her role in the Gay Liberation Movement: "Parts of it I'm proud of. And parts of it I'm deeply mortified by. The idea that what came of it turned out to be so grim – one of the saddest parts of my life. The idea that so many people got sick and died. It's one of the most awful things I have to live with.

"I don't think it was divine retribution. It was insane behavior. It was completely out-to-lunch behavior. There was so much drug use and promiscuity. I mean, you weren't there. I was there. Nobody said, 'Hey, wait a second. Hold on here. Hold it! Hold it! Hold it!' It was terrible. I haven't got anybody left. I haven't got a single soul left from those days. All gone. I'll tell you something. If I could take it back, I would. If I could change it, if I could go back and reverse everything, I would. It wasn't worth it." – Midler to BuzzWeekly, April 4-10, 1997

"I say 'girl' because I love to annoy people. I love the word Girl. Gal is pretty great, too. I hate that whole 'Don't call us girls anymore' thing. You know what? Call me anything. Call me sweetheart. No, actually, I hate that, it's patronizing. But I don't just want to be called a woman. It sounds like someone with a mustache.

"I'm very ambivalent [about feminism]. On the one hand, I completely understand the impulse behind it, and on the other, I think there's been a lot of damage done. I really resent political correctness and the idea that women who stay at home and raise their kids are worthless. I think that society as a whole has suffered and taken a terrible beating because of it. People can say that's traditional and spit at me all they want. You reach a certain age and your judgment is clearer." – Midler to Rolling Stone magazine, Nov. 13, 1997

I went on Johnny Carson. He asked me what I was doing, and I said, I work in a bathhouse. I sing in a bathhouse. And I think people were stunned, and I think gay people were – they sat up and said, 'Oh, my God.'" – Midler talking about working in a gay bathhouse early in her career on CNN's "Larry King Live," Nov. 26, 2003

"We're in a business that manufactures dreams and we're all in on it. This is a free country. You can't sit and say, 'so-and-so is a bad person for – you know – getting a chin implant.' You can't do that." – Midler on the pressure for women to look perfect, to CNN.com, June 15, 2004

"I really miss those days when people stood up for something and made a lot of noise; if I were smart enough, I would do it myself, but I don't have the brains or the power of rhetoric that so many others do but don't use, they don't speak out the way they once did." – Midler to Interview magazine, March 2006